Keith
Very Addicted
- Messages
- 1,630
- Points
- 930
- Age
- 75
Choosing the Right Blade.
A knife is not meant to be used for splitting wood, knives have specific uses. If you have heavier work to do then you carry a tomahawk or belt axe.
The hunting knife.
A hunting knife needs to have a blade of at least 6 inches. It should be made with the blade & tang in one piece. Full tang or half tang. This knife is used to skin & butcher game. It may also be needed for dispatching game & for defence. A hunting knife should never be thrown for sport at a hard surface, but it can be thrown in a defence situation if only to distract the attacker for long enough for you to gain cover; reach your attacker before they can shoot at you, or to facilitate your escape. Other than this you should keep this knife with you at all times.
The legging knife.
A second back-up knife may be carried to aid in skinning & butchering. This is to save time if your hunting knife should become dulled whilst dressing game. It is not wise to stay in one place for too long in case the sound of your shot has attracted unwanted guests. The blade length is not important so long as it is long enough to skin & butcher. Again the blade & tang need to be one piece, not joined. It is possible that this blade may be needed for defence, so it should be kept easily accessible. Sometimes these were historically carried by hanging the sheath from a leather thong around the neck & were known as neck knives.
The clasp knife or jack knife.
The clasp knife is used for camp chores, making a pot hook, making traps & trap triggers, etc.
The tomahawk or belt axe.
The tomahawk can be used for: constructing a shelter, making & hammering in wooden stakes, cutting bush poles, trap making, dismembering large game, self defence, throwing at an enemy or if needed thrown to down game. It can also be thrown for recreation/target practice. I have never found it necessary to use my tomahawk for cutting firewood, there is usually plenty of wood to be found on the forest floor, & large pieces can be broken over a log or a rock. The axe blade can also be use for fleshing animal skins. The tomahawk head can be removed for this purpose if it has a tapered oval or round eye.
The half-axe.
The half-axe is carried by some woodsmen to facilitate heavier construction work. It is not as large or as heavy as a full size felling axe, but larger than a tomahawk & so can be tied to the knapsack without being cumbersome.
Specialty blades.
Daggers & killing knives.
This last one is actually a plug bayonet that I made to fit the muzzle of my .62 calibre fusil.
A knife is not meant to be used for splitting wood, knives have specific uses. If you have heavier work to do then you carry a tomahawk or belt axe.
The hunting knife.
A hunting knife needs to have a blade of at least 6 inches. It should be made with the blade & tang in one piece. Full tang or half tang. This knife is used to skin & butcher game. It may also be needed for dispatching game & for defence. A hunting knife should never be thrown for sport at a hard surface, but it can be thrown in a defence situation if only to distract the attacker for long enough for you to gain cover; reach your attacker before they can shoot at you, or to facilitate your escape. Other than this you should keep this knife with you at all times.
The legging knife.
A second back-up knife may be carried to aid in skinning & butchering. This is to save time if your hunting knife should become dulled whilst dressing game. It is not wise to stay in one place for too long in case the sound of your shot has attracted unwanted guests. The blade length is not important so long as it is long enough to skin & butcher. Again the blade & tang need to be one piece, not joined. It is possible that this blade may be needed for defence, so it should be kept easily accessible. Sometimes these were historically carried by hanging the sheath from a leather thong around the neck & were known as neck knives.
The clasp knife or jack knife.
The clasp knife is used for camp chores, making a pot hook, making traps & trap triggers, etc.
The tomahawk or belt axe.
The tomahawk can be used for: constructing a shelter, making & hammering in wooden stakes, cutting bush poles, trap making, dismembering large game, self defence, throwing at an enemy or if needed thrown to down game. It can also be thrown for recreation/target practice. I have never found it necessary to use my tomahawk for cutting firewood, there is usually plenty of wood to be found on the forest floor, & large pieces can be broken over a log or a rock. The axe blade can also be use for fleshing animal skins. The tomahawk head can be removed for this purpose if it has a tapered oval or round eye.
The half-axe.
The half-axe is carried by some woodsmen to facilitate heavier construction work. It is not as large or as heavy as a full size felling axe, but larger than a tomahawk & so can be tied to the knapsack without being cumbersome.
Specialty blades.
Daggers & killing knives.
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